Each of today’s themed answers ends with an element of text. Also, each themed answer has a “punny” clue:

16A. Inc. and LLC? : BUSINESS LETTERS

22A. Beaming and shining? : GLOWING WORDS

45A. “Got it!” and “Roger that!”? : CATCHPHRASES

53A. “What are you in for?” and “I was framed”? : PRISON SENTENCES

Bill’s time: 6m 42s

Bill’s errors: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies

Across

1. Ballet divisions : ACTS

The term “ballet” came into English via French from the Latin “ballare” meaning “to dance”.

8. Hunchbacked lab assistant : IGOR

The lab assistant named Igor has turned up in many movies in recent decades, usually appearing as the aide to Dr. Frankenstein. Paradoxically, in Mary Shelley’s original novel, Frankenstein had no assistant at all. Further, the lab assistant introduced in 1931 in the first of the “Frankenstein” series of movies was named Fritz. Bela Lugosi played a character named Ygor in “Frankenstein” sequels in 1939 and 1946, but he was a blacksmith and didn’t work in the lab.

13. PGA Tour golf course near Miami : DORAL

The Doral Golf Resort in Doral, Florida has five championship golf courses, including one called the Blue Monster.

15. Fish in salade niçoise : TUNA

A Niçoise salad is known as a “salade Niçoise” in its native France, where it was named for the city of Nice in the south of the country. The original contains no cooked vegetables, but here in North America there are almost always included some boiled potatoes.

16. Inc. and LLC? : BUSINESS LETTERS

A company that has incorporated uses the abbreviation “Inc.” after its name. By incorporating, a company forms a corporation, which is a legal entity that has legal rights similar to those of an individual. For example, a corporation can sue another corporation or individual. However, a corporation does not have all the rights of citizens. A corporation does not have the Fifth Amendment right of protections against self-incrimination, for example. It is perhaps understandable that the concept of “corporations as persons” is a frequent subject for debate.

A limited liability company (LLC) is a company structure that limits the liability of the owner or owners. It is a hybrid structure in the sense that it can be taxed as would an individual or partnership, while also maintaining the liability protection afforded to a corporation.

29. Covent Garden highlight : ARIA

The Royal Opera House is located in Covent Garden in the West End of London. The Opera House is home to both the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, as well as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. The institution was founded in 1728 as the Theatre Royal, although the original building was destroyed by fire in 1808. The second Theater Royal opened on the site the following year, but it was also lost in a fire, in 1856. The current building opened in 1858, and was renamed to the Royal Opera House in 1892.

31. Pal of Pooh : ROO

Like most of the characters in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, the kangaroo named Roo was inspired by on a stuffed toy belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin.

32. Green shampoo : PRELL

Prell shampoo was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. Back then it was a clear green concentrate sold in a tube (like toothpaste).

33. Ranking org. for court players : ATP

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is an organization that looks out for the interests of male tennis professionals. The equivalent organization for women is the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

34. Google operating system : ANDROID

Google’s Android operating system is used by many manufacturers of smartphones. Google partners with several companies to produce Android One phones. The beauty of the Android One is that it runs an unadulterated version of the Android operating system, one that hasn’t been “customized” by the likes of T-Mobile or Verizon.

36. “Never __ Me Go”: Kazuo Ishiguro novel : LET

“Never Let Me Go” is a 2005 novel by Japanese-born British writer Kazuo Ishiguro (who also penned the celebrated work “The Remains of the Day”). “Never Let Me Go” is a piece of science fiction that follows the lives of a woman and two of her childhood friends. The three discover that they are clones who have been bred to provide vital organs for “normal” people when required.

40. Dr. with Grammys : DRE

“Dr. Dre” is the stage name of rapper Andre Romelle Young. Dr. Dre is known for his own singing career as well as for producing records and starting the careers of others such Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent.

44. Socialite Perle : MESTA

Perle Mesta was a socialite and fundraiser for the Democratic Party. She was made U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in 1949. Mesta was played by Ethel Merman in the movie titled “Call Me Madam”.

45. “Got it!” and “Roger that!”? : CATCHPHRASES

I “caught” your meaning.

49. Tic-tac-toe win : O-O-O

When I was growing up in Ireland we played “noughts and crosses” … our name for the game tic-tac-toe.

50. “Green Eggs and Ham” opening : I AM SAM

Dr. Seuss’s famous children’s book “Green Eggs and Ham” was first published in 1960. “Green Eggs and Ham” now ranks twelfth in the list of top selling children’s books. By the way, “Harry Potter” books hold the top four slots in that list. The text of “Green Eggs and Ham” has a lot of “I am” going on. It starts with:

I am Sam
I am Sam
Sam I am

and ends with:

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am

57. Like the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card : RARE

T206 is a series of tobacco cards that was issued by the American Tobacco Company from 1909 to 1911. The series is famous among collectors of baseball cards due to its extreme rarity. The T206 Honus Wagner card is the most valuable baseball card in existence, with examples routinely fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars in auctions.

Down

1. Langley, e.g.: Abbr. : AFB

Since 2010, Langley Air Force Base (AFB) has been part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, and is located close to Newport News, Virginia. Langley Field is one of the oldest facilities operated by the Air Force, having been established by the Army Air Service in 1916.

4. Cocktail made with brandy and crème de menthe : STINGER

Stingers are a class of cocktails made from a spirit mixed with crème de menthe. The classic stinger recipe calls for brandy and white crème de menthe, and dates back at least to 1917. The variation that calls for brandy mixed with green crème de menthe is known as green hornet.

5. Timber often used for guitar fretboards : ROSEWOOD

The fingerboard (also “fretboard”) of stringed instruments is usually made from a long strip of hardwood, often ebony or rosewood.

6. Triage locales, briefly : ERS

Triage is the process of prioritizing patients for treatment, especially on a battlefield. The term “triage” is French and means “a sorting”.

7. “La Bamba” singer Ritchie : VALENS

Ritchie Valens was a pioneer in the world of rock & roll and in Chicano rock in particular. Sadly, his recording career lasted less than a year, as Valens was killed in a plane crash in 1959, on “the Day the Music Died”. That plane crash in Iowa also claimed the lives of Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper (JP Richardson).

“La Bamba” is a folk song from Veracruz, Mexico that became a huge hit for Ritchie Valens in 1958. The most notable cover version of the Valens hit was recorded by Los Lobos in 1987 as the title track of 1987 movie “La Bamba”.

8. Addams family cousin : ITT

In the television sitcom “The Addams Family”, the family had a frequent visitor called Cousin Itt. Itt is a short man with long hair that runs from his head to the floor. Cousin Itt was played by Italian actor Felix Silla.

9. Military rebels : GUERRILLAS

Guerrilla (sometimes “guerilla”) warfare is a type of fighting engaged in by irregular forces using ambushes and sabotage. The term “guerra” is Spanish for war, and “guerrilla” translates as “little war”.

13. Geometric art style : DECO

Art deco is the name given to a style of design and architecture of the 1920s that actually had its roots in Belgium and then spread throughout Europe before arriving in North America. Celebrated examples of art deco architecture are the magnificent Chrysler Building in New York City completed in 1930, and the GE Building that sits in the middle of Rockefeller Center also in New York City, with the address of “30 Rock”.

14. __ Mason: asset management giant : LEGG

Legg Mason is a large investment management company that was founded in 1899 in Baltimore, where it is still based today.

17. Aswan Dam site : NILE

The Aswan Dam on the River Nile is actually two dams. The Low Dam was first built in 1902 (and modified later). The High Dam was completed in 1970.

26. Be judged unfairly : GET A BAD RAP

A rap sheet is a criminal record. “Rap” is a slang term dating back to the 1700s that means “blame, responsibility” as in “to take the rap”, “bad rap” and “to beat the rap”. This usage morphed into “rap sheet” in the early 1900s.

31. Genetic code transmitter : RNA

Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

37. What some caddies carry : TEA

A “caddy” is a container used for tea. “Caddy” comes from the Malay word “kati”, a unit of weight used as a standard by British tea companies in the East Indies.

39. The Northwest’s Sea-__ Airport : TAC

Sea-Tac Airport is more fully known as Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is the main hub for Alaska Airlines.

41. Private jet choices : CESSNAS

The Cessna Aircraft manufacturing company was founded in 1911 by Clyde Cessna, a farmer from Kansas. Cessna is headquartered in Wichita and today has over 8,000 employees.

44. Cultural pic that may go viral : MEME

A meme (short for “mineme”) is a cultural practice or idea that is passed on verbally or by repetition from one person to another. The term lends itself very well to the online world where links, emails, files etc. are so easily propagated.

45. Oscar-winning director Frank : CAPRA

I can’t tell you how many of Frank Capra’s movies are on my list of all-time favorites. He directed such classics as “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town”, “Lost Horizon”, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “Meet John Doe”, “Arsenic and Old Lace” and the holiday favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Capra was the first person to win three directorial Oscars: for “It Happened One Night”, “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “You Can’t Take It With You”. Capra also did his bit during WWII, enlisting just a few days after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Given his great talent, and the fact that he enlisted at the relatively advanced age of 44, the US Army put him to work directing 11 documentary war films in the “Why We Fight” series, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal.

54. Kinsey research focus : SEX

Alfred Kinsey sure did create a stir with his work and publications. He founded the Institute for Sex Research in 1947, and published the famous “Kinsey Reports” in 1948 and 1953. I enjoyed the 2004 biopic “Kinsey”, starring Irish actor Liam Neeson in the title role.

55. Producer of some Talking Heads albums : ENO

Brian Eno is a musician, composer and record producer from England who first achieved fame as the synthesizer player with Roxy Music. As a producer, Eno has worked with David Bowie, Devo, Talking Heads and U2.

Talking Heads was a New Wave band from New York City that formed in 1974 and was active until 1991. To be honest, I couldn’t name one of their songs …